I teach and conduct research to solve problems that will make the world better: safer, healthier, and happier. Working with undergraduates, graduate students, post-docs, and other faculty, we develop humanoid robots for disaster recovery, robots to inspect trees for invasive insect pests, and autonomous boats for monitoring lakes. In the past I have worked on medical imaging to improve cancer and heart disease diagnoses and treatment, and spatio-temporal databases for global change research. In my spare time I like to hike, bike, ski, canoe, and play frisbee.
Research Interests
Scholarly Work
Professional Affiliations
Professional Highlights & Honors
News
Media Coverage
Mike Gennert, professor of robotics engineering; Carlo Pinciroli, assistant professor of robotics engineering; and Ashay Aswale, a PhD student in robotics engineering, were featured in a TV segment describing their participation in the NASA-sponsored Space Robotics Challenge. About a dozen undergraduate and graduate students have made measurable contributions in the competition.
Mike Gennert, professor of robotics engineering, offered his thoughts on the impact of NASA’s Perseverance rover landing on Mars. “Perseverance picked its own landing spot as it got near the surface,” said Gennert, “so it was able to avoid rocks and other obstacles as it landed.” In the TV segment, Gennert added that it has “much more autonomous ability” than other rovers.